Sauvey Castle is a medieval castle, near Withcote, Leicestershire, England. It was probably built by King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

in 1211 as a secluded hunting lodge in Leighfield Forest. It comprised a

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...

or shell keep, with an adjacent bailey; earthwork dams were constructed to flood the area around the castle, creating a large, shallow moat. The castle was occupied by the

Count of Aumale The County of Aumale, later elevated to a duchy, was a medieval fief in Normandy. It was disputed between England and France during parts of the Hundred Years' War. Aumale in Norman nobility Aumale was a medieval fief in the Duchy of Normandy and ...

in the early reign of Henry III, but it then remained in the control of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

and was used by

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

ers until it fell into disuse in the 14th century. By the end of the 17th century, its walls and buildings had been dismantled or destroyed, leaving only the earthworks, which remain in a good condition in the 21st century.

Construction

Historians are divided as to when Sauvey Castle was constructed; most suggest that it was built by King John in 1211 when he acquired the surrounding lands, although some sources argue it was built during the reign of King Stephen, between 1135 and 1153. The castle was located in a secluded part of Leighfield Forest, part of the wider Forest of Rockingham, and, if built by John, was intended for use as a hunting lodge. Its name in Norman French was ''Salveé'', meaning "dark island". The castle lies on raised ground along a valley, with two tributaries of the

River Chater The River Chater is a river in the East Midlands of England. It is a tributary of the River Welland, and is about long. Course It rises near Whatborough Hill in Leicestershire, and then flows east, past Sauvey Castle and Launde Abbey, befor ...

running past it to the north and south. It comprises an oval enclosure across, variously described as a shell keep or a

, separated by a deep ditch from a rectangular bailey to the west, in size. The bailey had a guardhouse at its north-east corner, overlooking the entrance. Buildings were constructed around the south side of the enclosure, with a chapel in the middle. The castle was built largely from stone, with a curtain wall around the enclosure. A ditch was cut along the western site of the castle, between and wide, and an earth bank, or dam, high was built to the south-east; these allowed the area around the castle to be flooded, forming a large, shallow lake or moat. A similar design of moat can be seen at Ravensworth Castle. Fishponds were constructed as part of the complex, linked to the moat.

History

The first records of Sauvey Castle date around 1216, during the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

, when the government of the young Henry III ordered the royal castle to be surrendered to William de Fors, the

. The count established a power base in the region, but in 1218

William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

, the regent, ordered him to return it to

; the count declined. Further demands followed until, in 1220, royal forces besieged and took the count's castle at nearby Rockingham. In a face-saving solution, the count finally returned Sauvey to the King, supposedly of his own free will, in exchange for the cancellation of any debts that he might have owed to the Crown. The castle was occupied by royal foresters during the 13th century, usually the keepers of Leighfield, and the castle carried with it the rights to the neighbouring manor of Withcote. In the mid-13th century, the castle carried a small "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

" - an annual fee owed to the Crown by its holder - of £3. In the 1240s Henry III ordered the sheriff of Leicester to build a timber chapel in Sauvey Castle, using wood from

Rockingham Forest Rockingham Forest is a former royal hunting forest in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It is an area of some lying between the River Welland and River Nene and the towns of Stamford and Kettering. It has a rich and varied landscape, wit ...

and reusing stones from a collapsed stable. After 1246, the castle declined in importance, although during the instability and revolts of 1258, Henry III ordered Sauvey to be used as the shrieval, or sheriff's, castle for the counties of Leicestershire and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, which lacked their own shrieval castles. In 1289, the keeper of Rockingham Forest removed stonework and lead from the property, for reuse at Rockingham Castle. The castle was last referred to in active use in 1316, after which it was probably allowed to decay; further stonework was taken by the keeper of Rockingham Forest in 1373, by which time the castle had probably been abandoned. By the 15th century, Sauvey formed a subsidiary property of Withcote manor - a reversal of the old land holding pattern. Its structures had mostly been dismantled or destroyed by 1622 and had gone entirely by the end of the century. The site is protected under UK law as a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. It remains in a good condition and

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

regard the castle's earthworks and moat design as distinctive, with "few parallels nationally".

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Castles in Leicestershire , state=expanded Castles in Leicestershire Scheduled monuments in Leicestershire